FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — Leading the Stanley Cup Final 2-1, the Florida Panthers can move to the verge of a second consecutive championship if they beat the Edmonton Oilers in Game 4 at home Thursday night.
The Panthers were upbeat and relaxed at their final full practice before the potential swing game, with players downplaying the gravity of the situation.
“I feel like every game’s so big during this time,” center Anton Lundell said Wednesday. “The stakes gets higher. Everybody wants to win. But we both know for both teams it’s a big game, and we want to be good.”
They were more than good in Game 3, routing the Oilers 6-1 to take control of a series that looked evenly matched after a bunch of overtime hockey and a split in Edmonton.
“Usually you get teams’ best after that, I think especially with the players they have in the room, how competitive they are, they’re going to look to bounce back,” said Brad Marchand, who is tied with teammate Sam Bennett for the most goals in the final with four apiece. “When you have that kind of leadership, they normally lead the way, those top guys. That’s a dangerous combination. We have to make sure that we bring our best.”
The Panthers are nearing full strength at a time of year usually known for players gutting through injuries, with Paul Maurice saying Sam Reinhart is back healthy and Matthew Tkachuk looks like he is rounding into form. The Oilers are missing Zach Hyman because of his playoff-ending wrist injury, and fellow top-line forward Ryan Nugent-Hopkins is dealing with something that is keeping him off the ice for practices and making him a game-time decision.
That discrepancy could make a difference in their Cup final rematch. One thing that is the same is Florida locking in and normalizing pressure situations like this.
“Our approach, it’s pretty similar the entire playoffs,” said Bennett, who leads all scorers this postseason with 14 goals. “Whether it’s Game 1 or Game 7, we play the same style. We play just as hard. We’re not sitting back, so we really are not going to be changing anything in this next game or any other games to come.”